Migrator;! Birds of the Buffalo River Basin. 13 



on May 24tli ; next day, five were seen near the Green River ; 

 and most surprising of all, over 80 were counted between 

 Debe and Pirie on June lltli. This latter occurrence 

 indicates another erratic movement which requires explana- 

 tion. The only explanation that suggests itself is that these 

 birds are not perfectly adult (although they do not show 

 signs of immaturity), and therefore are not yet driven by 

 their over-mastering instinct to seek the land of their birth. 

 For, as is well known, immature birds are not, as a rule, 

 found in the company of the adults at the nesting-haunts. 

 Here is another call to local naturalists to note where and 

 when White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) are seen in this region 

 in mid-winter. 



Although a number of Storks were killed or disabled by 

 the hailstorm already referred to, no marked bird seems to 

 have been detected as yet in this district. 



An innnature Black Stork {Ciconia nigra) hung about on 

 a vlei on the Amatola Mountains for at least a week in 

 January ; it was seen on the 5th and again on the 13th at 

 the same s[)ot. 



Cxcfcoos. 



Owing to the shyness of the Cuckoos and their silence in 

 tlie summer and autumn, it is exceedingly ditiicult to discover 

 the dates on which the Cuckoos depart from our district. 

 The Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius), or Piet-myn- 

 vrouw, was last heard at Pirie on January 17th. Two months 

 later, however, on 23rd March, an immature male was killed 

 by a boy as it flew across Pirie, and was brought to me. 

 This latter occurrence seems to indicate that the movements 

 of the Red-chested (Juckoo here are similar to those of the 

 European Cuckoo (Cucnlus ca)ionis). The old birds depart 

 amongst the earliest of our autumn migrants, but the young 

 tarry several weeks behind them and go oft' alone as autunm 

 is advancing. 



The Emerald C^uckoo {MetalJococci/x smarafiJineui) was 

 last heard on January 11. Some small Pirie boys obtained 

 a young one on December 10, and brought it to me under 



